


It's nothing

by Aryn



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Established Relationship, Fluff, Gen, M/M, Pets
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-02-26
Updated: 2017-02-26
Packaged: 2018-09-27 00:21:06
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,875
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9939887
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aryn/pseuds/Aryn
Summary: Alec is pretty sure someone, or something, is stalking him. He just isn't sure if it's an innocent kitten, or something a bit more malicious than that.--In this world, Alec is the one to find their pet cat and bring it home to Magnus.





	

**Author's Note:**

> I know I've written a lot of fluff so far, but this might be the fluffiest thing I've ever written. Seriously, I think I got cavities while writing it. I feel like I need to give some credit to Matthew Daddario, because it was his adorable interactions with small animals that inspired me to write this. I hope you guys like it :)
> 
> As always, thanks for reading!

Ironically, a werewolf was the first to notice.

Luke and Alec were surveying the site of a demon attack on the south side of Manhattan. A small pack of Shax demons had terrorized a group of punk kids who were out in an alleyway way past their bedtime. Thankfully, none of them were killed, but two were sent to the nearest emergency room for their injuries. If that wasn’t bad enough, the demons got away.

Alec was about to activate one of his runes to track the demons when he heard Luke make a peculiar sound next to him. He looked at him and found Luke staring at something just over his shoulder. His gaze was surprised, but also amused somehow, so Alec didn’t think he needed to be too alarmed.

Still, he turned to look behind him. Nothing. Just a steel ladder leading up to the building’s fire escape. Alec shifted to look back at Luke questioningly. Luke just shrugged as an answer.

In his periphery, Alec saw something dart across the alley and out into the street. He pivoted, drawing his bow and arrow, but again he saw nothing. Alec’s eyebrows furrowed.

_‘Am I hallucinating again?’_ Alec wondered warily. _‘Should I call Magnus?’_

He was about to move forward and investigate, but Luke grabbed his arm to stop him.

“It’s nothing, son,” he said, guiding him back down the alley where they predicted the demons ran off. “Let’s track these bastards down.”

  
The next time it happens, he’s heading home from a mission, and it’s Clary who sees it.

Nearly dead on her feet after chasing a rogue vampire through the city, she insisted they stop at a food cart and get something to eat for their walk back to the Institute. Alec, of course, was hesitant, but Clary was like a little sister to him by that point, and he found he couldn’t refuse her when she looked up at him with wide, pleading eyes.

That didn’t mean that Alec would ever admit that this falafel, or whatever it was he was eating, really hit the spot after such a long day.

They were walking down the unusually empty city sidewalks when Alec noticed Clary glancing behind them every couple of minutes. Her mouth fought off a smirk every time she turned forward again. Alec wasn’t sure he wanted to know, but by the fourth time she did this his curiosity got the better of him.

“What’s up Fray?” He asked with a sigh.

Clary looked up at him, a little taken aback by the question. “What do you mean?”

But Alec wasn’t buying her innocent façade. “Don’t play dumb with me. You’ve been looking at something over your shoulder for the past fifteen minutes.” A thought occurred to him. “Are we being followed?”

Without waiting to hear her answer, Alec turned around. He didn’t find anything too alarming, just a few mundane pedestrians talking outside a storefront.

“Alec, it’s nothing. Stop worrying. I guess I’m just a bit distracted tonight,” Clary said. She put her hand on his wrist. “Come on, let’s get back to the Institute.”

Alec looked down at her and nodded, still not totally satisfied, and continued walking with her down the street. A few minutes later, when they were stopped at a crosswalk and Clary wasn’t paying attention, he peeked behind him one last time. Still nothing, but Alec swore he saw a small shadow of something lurking behind a streetlamp. Before he had time to figure out what it was, however, the walk signal turned on, prompting them to move forward.

A week later, it’s Jace who spots it while they were downtown, loitering in the back of a mundane club in the early hours of the morning.

Alec was too busy laughing at his brother to notice anything. He did not enjoy going out very often, but when given the opportunity to watch Jace strike out with countless women all night long, he was always the first to volunteer. If there was one thing Alec appreciated about mundane women, it was their ability to see through a sleazy guy’s bullshit.

He didn’t feel the least bit bad about lumping his brother in with said sleazy men that night, either. Jace had been worse than usual. Alec was in the middle of making fun of him as Jace wrung out his sopping shirt, wet from the long island iced tea the last woman threw at him, when he saw Jace staring at something down the alleyway.

“What?” Alec asked, looking behind him and frowning when he didn’t see anything unusual. He turned back to see Jace still looking at the same spot, his eyebrows furrowed in confusion. A second later, his eyebrows jumped in astonishment, and Alec turned around quickly to see what had surprised his brother. When he found nothing again, he blew out a breath in frustration. “Seriously, what is with you tonight? How many beers have you had?”

Jace was still staring behind him, but Alec wasn’t about to fall for the same trick again. Finally, he shook his head and huffed a breathless laugh, the corner of his lips turning up in an amused smirk. “It’s nothing man. You’re probably right — just had one drink too many.”

Alec rolled his eyes and pushed Jace’s shoulder to turn him around and lead him to the sidewalks. “Let’s go home. You’ve clearly had enough for one night.”

Just as they made it out to the street, Alec heard a soft sound coming from the alley and he turned back again. He couldn’t identify what the sound was or where in the alley it came from, but when he saw nothing yet again, his mind flashed back to the last two times something similar had happened when he was with Clary and with Luke. He had no evidence to believe the events were linked, but for some reason he couldn’t get it out of his head.

“Alec?” Jace called, and he turned back to his brother.

“Coming.”

When Izzy sees it a few days later, Alec starts to get paranoid.

They were heading back to the Institute after a long day of shopping, the sun setting over the New York skyline. Alec was grumbling in annoyance as he carried the majority of his sister’s shopping bags. ( _“I’m wearing six-inch heels, Alec,” she had reasoned. “That amount of extra weight is a health hazard.”_ )

“You can talk about incoming and outgoing trends all you want Izzy, but I will never understand why you need so many — ” Alec stopped talking suddenly when he noticed his sister wasn’t paying him any attention, instead looking at something outside his line of vision. When he turned around and saw nothing of importance, he pressed his lips together to hold back a frustrated noise.

“Okay, what the hell is going on? What do you guys keep looking at?” Alec demanded, pivoting back to Izzy, who looked shocked to see her brother so upset.

“Alec — ” But Izzy couldn’t get very far, as just then something shot past Alec’s feet, rubbing against his legs and making him jump. He dropped the shopping bags he was holding — ignoring Izzy’s reprimands — and reached for his seraph blade before remembering that he had not brought one with him. His eyes scanned the ground urgently, but whatever it was that passed him was either fast or easily disguised, because he didn’t see anything.

When he took a few steps forward to continue his search, Izzy stopped him by grasping both of his shoulders. “Alec, it’s nothing. Calm — ”

“It’s _not_ nothing, Izzy!” Alec burst out. “This keeps happening to me. I think I’m being stalked.”

Izzy was silent at this declaration, clearly shocked. By the way she was clenching her jaw, a lightness in her eyes, it was obvious she was trying to keep herself from laughing at her brother as well.

“Alec,” she said calmly after a moment. “You are not being stalked. There’s no way a human could — ”

“No, I don’t think it’s a human,” Alec interrupted, brushing one of her hands off his shoulder so he could check behind him again. When he turned back to Izzy, he found her looking more incredulous than she had been a few seconds ago.

“So you think you’re being stalked by some kind of animal?” She asked, squinting her eyes in apprehension at the idea.

“I know that sounds crazy, but it could be a shapeshifter! A demon of some kind, or someone like that warlock Iris who broke into Magnus’ loft disguised as a cat!”

Something about what he said made Izzy appear uneasy, and Alec grew eager when he thought his sister might finally believe what he was saying. But after another moment she seemed to shake herself out of it. “Alec, I don’t think that’s what this is. There are plenty of stray animals that roam freely around all of New York. It’s probably just a coincidence.”

Alec’s shoulders slumped in disappointment at this response. He moved past Izzy to pick up the bags he had dropped. “Whatever, let’s just go home.”

Fed up at the lack of concern his friends and family were showing at his situation, Alec went to Magnus.

“You think an animal is stalking you around the city?”

“It’s not an animal,” Alec said, tired of explaining his theory to so many people. But he was more tired of people looking at him like he was crazy. “I think it could be a shapeshifter, though.” He looked up at Magnus from where he was seated and saw that his boyfriend still looked unconvinced. “Look, it could be nothing. It probably _is_ nothing. But do you know of any warlocks in the area who have the ability to transform into animals?”

“There’s no one that comes to mind. But I’ll keep an eye out, Alexander.”

Alec stood up and gave Magnus a light peck as a thank you, making his way out of the apartment.

Magnus wouldn’t tell Alec, or anyone else for that matter, but right after the shadowhunter left he did a quick magical scan of the entire city, just in case. He let out a sigh of relief when he didn’t find anything that posed a threat like the one Alec described.

When Alec finally sees the thing himself, he was alone doing a nightly patrol.

More on edge than ever, Alec kept his bow and arrow at the ready, twisting and turning in alarm any time he heard anything slightly out of the ordinary. It could be his paranoia, but Alec swore he heard the pattering of light footsteps behind him breaking through the noise of the city as he walked.  

About an hour in, it started to rain, drowning out most other sounds. Alec didn’t know if this was a good or bad thing. Sure, he wouldn’t be distracted by any harmless noise anymore, but if his theory was correct and something actually was following him, it would be easier for the perpetrator to sneak up on him this way.

A sudden clanking sound under the dumpster beside him made Alec jump. He shifted quickly, nocking an arrow and aiming it at the ground, searching for whatever had made the noise.

His breath left him at what he found.

As he scanned the small space under the dumpster, his eyes met another pair — the glowing yellow eyes of a cat.

Alec was immediately reminded of Magnus, the eyes were so similar to his boyfriend’s that he couldn’t help thinking of him. For a short, crazed second, he actually thought it might be the warlock under the dumpster, and for all these weeks Magnus had simply been playing a prank on him. The thought was deemed ridiculous almost as soon as it occurred to him, however. There was no way Magnus would be able to fit under a space that small.

Setting his bow to the side, Alec kneeled to get a better look at the animal. He found that what he had first thought was a fully-grown cat was actually a small kitten, shivering and slightly damp from the rain.

He didn’t know how or why, but for some reason Alec knew that this was the same animal that had been following him for weeks. It explained everything, from the small shadow by the street lamp to the soft sound as he left the alley with Jace. Alec also knew that this kitten was no shapeshifter, and didn’t pose any real threat to him.

“Hello,” he said. The kitten was scanning his body and bow warily, but at the sound of his voice it looked up at him, its slit pupils widening. “I’m not going to hurt you, I promise.”

Alec reached out slowly with one hand toward the kitten, leaving it inches away from its small nose. Tentatively, the kitten moved forward, eyeing his fingers and sniffing him. Soon, Alec felt its sandpaper tongue lick the tip of his index finger, and he smiled widely.

Still cautious and not wanting the animal to run away, Alec brought his other hand over and gently pet the kitten’s soft, wet fur. When his touch was welcomed, Alec picked up the cat and brought it closer to his face.

“You don’t have a home, do you?” He asked, staring into its large yellow eyes. “That’s why you’ve been following me, huh?”

The kitten responded by reaching up with one of its paws and patting Alec’s cheek. He scrunched his eyes shut and chuckled.

“Well, I can’t say much for your ability to judge a person’s character. I’m not exactly warm and fuzzy,” Alec said, and yet he felt his heart melt when the kitten licked his hand again. 

In his palms, Alec felt that the kitten was still shaking from the cold and rain. It let out a soft, unhappy "meow," as if to let Alec know of its distress. “Here, this will be better,” he said, standing up and bringing the kitten in to cradle him under his jacket. He held the cat in one hand, and with his other he grabbed his phone and texted Jace to send someone to replace him for the rest of his shift. “Come on, let’s get you somewhere warm and safe, okay?”

The kitten purred against his chest in reply.

The sound of the front door opening startled Magnus from where he was focused on a potion. He had not expected Alec to be back for another two hours, at least.  But when he looked up he saw his boyfriend walking toward him, damp, but otherwise unharmed.

“Darling? Is everything alright?”

“I figured out what’s been following me.”

At Magnus’ look of surprise, Alec smiled and reached into his jacket, pulling out the mostly dried kitten. Alec’s smile grew when he saw Magnus’ expression shift to awe and adoration at the sight of the animal.

“Well, who do we have here?” He cooed at the kitten, who looked at Magnus with curiosity.

“I found him hiding under a dumpster,” Alec chucked, holding the kitten out to Magnus with one hand. “Want to check him to make sure he’s not secretly out to get me?” He joked.

Magnus laughed, but snapped his fingers anyway. A blue haze surrounded the kitten for a few seconds, but all it did was sneeze in response to the magic. Magnus smiled and took the kitten in both of his hands. “No, the only crime this fella is guilty of is being far too adorable.” He held the kitten close to his face as he said this, and Alec saw him positively light up when the animal reached out with his tongue to lick Magnus’ nose.

Alec’s heart warmed at the sight. When he thought about what he was about to say next, he cleared his throat and tried to ignore the nerves that were making its way up his spine. “I don’t think he has a home of his own. And uh… I know you like cats, and since pets aren’t exactly allowed at the Institute, I thought maybe… maybe we could raise him here, together?” Magnus looked at him, fondness shining in his eyes. “But um, I know that this is a pretty big responsibility, so if you don’t want that I could always just find a nice shelter for him or something…” Alec trailed off, still unsure about proposing something like this when they had only been together for a few months.

But Magnus just let out an amused scoff. “Nonsense, Alexander. He must stay with us. This cat _chose_ you, darling. You can’t ignore a message from the universe that strong.”

Alec smiled again, and Magnus returned it. Magnus set the kitten down on the floor and snapped his fingers again, making a bowl of milk appear. The kitten immediately went to it and began to drink. Alec took a few more steps toward Magnus to wrap an arm around his shoulders as they stared at the cat. “So, if we’re going to keep him, I guess the first thing we need to do is think of a name. Any ideas?”

Magnus smirked up at him. “Oh, Alexander, I have _plenty_ of ideas.”

**Author's Note:**

> It's up to you guys to decide whether or not Magnus actually named him Chairman Meow. For some reason, I couldn't bring myself to do it. I based this story in the TV universe, and I just can't see TV!Magnus naming his cat that. But if you want the cat to be named Chairman Meow, go right ahead. If you think he'll be named something different, that's great too!
> 
> Thanks again for reading!


End file.
